USDA Ready to Approve GMO Corn for Ethanol Production

With the public comment period just ended, the US Department of Agriculture is set to approve the use of GMO corn for use in ethanol production. This would be the first time that the USDA approved a crop genetically engineered for biofuel production:

If authorized, officials said the new ethanol corn would also be the first genetically engineered industrial crop to be planted on millions of acres annually. But critics say if grown at such an enormous scale, the ethanol GE corn would inevitably contaminate corn intended for the food and feed supply, exposing people to new engineered proteins that might pose a health risk. (Market Watch)

Among those critics: The Union of Concerned Scientists , which urged the USDA to ban outdoor production of ethanol, as well as all other food crop engineered for industrial or drug purposes.